According to numbers released by the Trans Murder Monitoring project in 2010, there have been more than 420 reported murders of trans people internationally since 2008, which means a trans person is killed every three days.

“A key factor in all those murders is whether or not they were sex workers,” she says. “The discrimination and stigma faced by sex workers is likely a major contributing factor towards the murder of trans people. That’s why we should push for the decriminalization of sex work in Canada and other countries.”

Page worked as a sex worker, on and off, between the ages of 12 and 18.

When she first started, she says, she saw dollar signs and an easy way to pay for the party drugs she was taking. She didn’t yet publicly identify as trans. “I lived in a glass closet,” she says now.

“I was underage. Street sex work tends to be much more dangerous . . . It was quite a scary experience.

“I was pretty frightened most of the time that I was doing it . . . I was worried there would be violence, worried about my sexual health and whether my parents or friends would find out. It was an anxiety-causing experience. But I just kept going back and doing it. Money and excitement.”

Page was lucky. She experienced minimal violence from her clients. “There were a lot of pushy clients and grabby clients, who probably wouldn’t have taken no for an answer if I said no."

Page says many street-based sex workers are moving off the streets and onto the internet, except for trans sex workers, who, for the most part, have stayed on the streets.

There are several reasons for this, Page says, including poverty, addiction, HIV status, isolation and homelessness. There is also a sense of family, she says. "Trans sex workers are more likely to find community on the streets or in clubs, like street mothers. That's powerful and helpful, like an informal support network."

Page says that as a teenager, she identified as gender-queer before coming out as trans at 16.

“At some point through the transition process I dropped the drugs I was addicted to,” she says. “As a result I didn’t have any motivation to continue in sex work. For me, sex work was a way to get money for drugs and validation.”

That validation is intoxicating, she says. “Especially for trans women: we find our validation in doing sex work, which is not necessarily true for other sex workers. People who interpreted me as trans were valuing me in a sexual way, valuing me at all.”

Page remembers being viciously bullied in school. She eventually dropped out. “So, it was powerful to have people want you around.”

Page's mother died when she was 18, at which point a friend’s mother started taking care of her and got her involved in sex-worker activism in Hamilton.

Page arrived in Toronto in 2007 with an eighth-grade education. Then, in 2008, she helped organize protests to fight the Homewood-Maitland Safety Association, which was attempting to push trans sex workers out of their neighbourhood in downtown Toronto.

Page says she is actively following the ongoing debate around the Homewood stroll.

In 2010, she launched T-GUAVA (Trans Girls and Guys United Against Violent Assault), a series of workshops for trans youth about intimate partner abuse.

Not long after the 2008 protests on Homewood St, Page landed a youth placement at The 519, which eventually led to her current job.

In June, Page won the award for Outstanding Contribution to Community Empowerment at the LGBT Youth Line awards.

She is looking forward to this year's Trans Day of Remembrance. The 519 will honour trans people who have been murdered around the world, and their names will be read aloud at the solemn event.

The Toronto event will also feature speeches and performances by several members of the trans community, such as dancers Ill Nana. “This is the only event all year that centres directly around trans people. Most queer events ignore us, and as a result, ignore the violence that continues to marginalize trans people, especially trans sex workers."

Page is thankful for Toronto’s trans services, like those provided at The 519, but she reminds that the situation is very different outside Toronto.

“We have to do more to help trans youth in rural areas because there’s nothing right now . . . Coming out in Hamilton sucked, so bad. We have to reach out to youth.”

Trans Day of Remembrance was started to commemorate the life of Rita Hester, an African-American trans woman murdered in 1998. It is celebrated in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver and other cities across Canada and the US.

The trans pulse research guide – run primarily by trans people in Ontario - released its stats on bullying.Morgan Page, trans community services coordinator at the 519 Church Street Community Centre, says the problem with trying to find exact numbers on incidents of transphobic violence is that incidents often go unreported, especially if the victims are marginalized, such as if they are homeless, sex workers or mentally ill.

There have been 93 reported murders of trans people from January 2010 to June 2010, according to data collected for the Trans Murder Monitoring project. Statistics for 2011 will be released Nov 18, Page says.

This report takes numbers out of context. The report shows that Brazil had almost half of the Trans murders. Bloomberg reported this week that Rio de Janeiro alone had almost 5,000 murders last year compared to 536 in New York City. Honduras, Guatemala, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico...have the highest murder rates of countries in the world. These Trans people were at the wrong place at the wrong time. They were not the only ones murdered in the same spot. Europe and Canada had the lowest number. All murder is wrong. But it is also wrong to do a twisting of numbers, to take things out of context to create boo-hoo journalism. Marching around the 519 is a lazy form of preaching to the converted. Obviously these vigils have to be taken to South + Central Americas, Mexico and the Caribbean --the worlds most murderous regions-- where they will make the stronger, more dramatic impact than in Canada. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate

I've asked my friend Jessica to speak up when the times comes beside me during my Prima Facie Charter Challenge FL01-1127 in Calgary. I am FIGHTING FOR GAY FAMILY EQUALITY for my daughter. I'm a Canadian Male FIGHTING for MALE EQUALITY and we must get Family status a protected and recognized ground within our CHARTER. Trans community is our fringe diverse group and WE MUST MAKE IT BETTER for each other. Why cant politicians just get that and do whats right for human rights, environment and human kind. Sportaerobics@hotmail.com is my email where you can ask me how you might help in our war here. I'm supposed to get help etc yet Courts BAN my use of Facebook and Twitter...THIS is one of few ways I can BEG FOR HELP FROM MY COMMUNITY AS REQUIRED BY CHARTER CHALLENGE INTERIM FUNDING REQUEST which i've asked for time and time again, or at least a lawyer. HOW CAN I GET HELP when I"M BANNED from using my RESOURCES like SOCIAL MEDIA.....ITS HUMILIATING< DEGRADING< EMBARASSING< INVASIVE< OFFENSIVE< DISCRIMINATORY =< FL01-01406 started this mess with illegal misrepresentation and attack on PARENTAL FAMILY STATUS proven in Appeal & Trial Still we have discrimination and NO LAWS TO PROTECT GAY FAMILiES, gay people, human rights, rights of children so make it better now with us by supporting our CASE knowledge is POWER. Power + Truth + HOPE = change in humanunity. TRANS Sex people likewise have a voice albeit quiet so people like AIDS CALGARY JESSICA need to come forward with friends and brothers and sisters like me. JESSICA, We ARE family. Sky's the Limit for papa

Sic itur ad astra SKY

FL01-11127 FAMILY STATUS CC Calgary,AB
sportaerobics@hotmail.com for support of all measure, everything and everyday is important.

ONE COMMUNITY, ONE RACE....the HUMAN one.

Gender discrimination
Sexual orientation discrimination
hiv stigma

Publication Ban in effect and IS DISCRIMINATORY ITSELF & OFFENSIVE to this FAG!

As long as we also remember that many of the sex workers who were murdered, that happened to also be either ts or tg, were murdered not because of who they were but rather because of the work they did. I hate seeing their deaths being co opted as much as I know it's important to point out that indeed people are murdered because of who they are.